BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis. Very few studies have reported association between obesity and severity of COVID-19. In this meta-analysis, we assessed the association of obesity and outcomes in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. METHODS: Data from observational studies describing the obesity or body mass index (BMI) and outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients from December 1, 2019, to August 15, 2020, was extracted following PRISMA guidelines with a consensus of two independent reviewers. Adverse outcomes defined as intensive care units (ICU), oxygen saturation <90%, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), severe disease and in-hospital mortality. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were obtained and forest plots were created using random-effects models. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies with 10,233 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. The overall prevalence of obesity in our study was 33.9% (3473/10,233). In meta-analysis, COVID-19 patient with obesity had higher odds of poor outcomes compared to better outcomes with a pooled OR of 1.88 (95%CI:1.25-2.80; p=0.002), with 86% heterogeneity between studies (p<0.00001). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests a significant association between obesity and COVID-19 severity and poor outcomes. Our results findings may have important suggestions for the clinical management and future research of obesity and COVID-19. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
- All age groups
- Risk factor
- COVID-19
